https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 23:50:02 +0000 MyBB https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Talented-Starting-Line-up-Ever-for-Amsterdam-Marathon Fri, 16 Oct 2015 12:29:57 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Talented-Starting-Line-up-Ever-for-Amsterdam-Marathon Amsterdam Marathon. The competitors in the 40th edition were introduced in the beautiful Amstel Lounge, which overlooks the course. Wilson Chebet and Bernard Kipyego spoke optimistically about their preparation and their chances this coming Sunday. Among the women, Olympic champion Tiki Gelana and Flomene Cheyech are determined to set the course record. Michel Butter, Abdi Nageeye and Khalid Choukoud are poised to make their Olympic dream a reality.

Chebet and Kipyego, who were present at the press conference, are looking forward to their 42.195 km. Chebet, who won in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and holds the course record of 2.05.36: “Amsterdam has been good to me, and I’m extremely proud of my nickname “Mister Amsterdam”. If the conditions are right I can be successful again in Amsterdam.” Last year Kipyego was the first to cross the finish line, in a personal record time of 2.06.22. “I’m hoping to tighten up my record, and I might even do better than that, who knows.”

Tiki Gelana found success early on in her career in Amsterdam. The 27-year old Ethiopian won in 2011. One year later she took the Olympic gold in London. Le Champion is proud to welcome her to the starting line once more. “I’m going for the course record”, she admitted today. “And I’m also hoping to qualify for Rio here”. Gelana has a personal record of 2.18.58. The course record was set in 2012 by Meseret Hailu and stands at 2.21.09.

Flomena Cheyech also has big plans for the fast IAAF Gold Label marathon. “The goal I have set for myself is to break the course record.” The experienced 33-year old Kenyan ran her fastest marathon in 2.22.44. She already demonstrated she is in excellent shape during a half marathon six weeks ago.

It is a rare treat to have the four strongest Dutch marathon runners, Butter, Nageeye, Choukoud and Koen Raymakers, at the starting line on Sunday. The athletes agree. “Really amazing and very motivating”, says Butter. “We can push each other to the next level”, adds Choukoud. The bar for the Olympic Games in Rio is set at 2 hours and 11 minutes. The trio in the Amstel Hotel is ready.

Butter has been preparing in Kenya, among other places, for the past few months. “All the training sessions have been right on the mark. This is the first time I’ve had a flawless preparation period”, says the 29-year old Castricum native, who ran the Amsterdam marathon in 2.09.58 in 2012. Butter had this to say about his race on Sunday: “The second half will be faster than the first half. I’m running with three very fast runners, so I’m just going to follow those guys. I’ll have to stay caged like a lion as long as possible, and then at 33/34 km I can take off.”

Nageeye radiated self-confidence. “2.08, without a doubt”, the 26-year old athlete concluded. His foundation is high-altitude training in Ethiopia. “I was easily able to keep up during all the training sessions. My teammates there think I can probably do 2.04/2.05. I’m excited about my level of performance and I can’t wait to see the results.”

Choukoud traveled to Morocco to finish up his preparation with high-altitude training. “It went really well.” The 29-year old The Hague native will take off at a half-marathon time of 64.45. “If I make 2.10.59 I’ll be happy. Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics”.

The line-up features a lot of other talent besides the Dutch men. “We have never seen so much talent in one group”, says Jos Hermens from Global Sports Communication. “It’s a large starting line-up with a couple of very fast runners. We’ll have to wait and see how the wind along the Amstel will affect them. It will be an interesting race, that’s for sure.”

The starting line-up this Sunday will feature nine runners whose times are under 2.06.33. Tsegaye

Mekonnen has the fastest personal record with 2.04.32, followed by Markos Geneti (2.04.54) and Jonathan Maiyo (2.04.56). Other favorites include Wilson Chebet, Bernard Kipyego, Abel Kirui, Dadi Yami, Feyisa Bekele and Chala Dechase.

The TCS Amsterdam Marathon, which is organized by Le Champion, reached its registration limit as early as August 9 this year. The organizers are expecting 44,028 participants from no less than 105 different countries.

The start of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon is Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the Olympic Stadium. The race can be followed live on Sunday in 137 countries, on Eurosport, among other stations, and via livestream at tcsamsterdammarathon.nl.]]> Amsterdam Marathon. The competitors in the 40th edition were introduced in the beautiful Amstel Lounge, which overlooks the course. Wilson Chebet and Bernard Kipyego spoke optimistically about their preparation and their chances this coming Sunday. Among the women, Olympic champion Tiki Gelana and Flomene Cheyech are determined to set the course record. Michel Butter, Abdi Nageeye and Khalid Choukoud are poised to make their Olympic dream a reality.

Chebet and Kipyego, who were present at the press conference, are looking forward to their 42.195 km. Chebet, who won in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and holds the course record of 2.05.36: “Amsterdam has been good to me, and I’m extremely proud of my nickname “Mister Amsterdam”. If the conditions are right I can be successful again in Amsterdam.” Last year Kipyego was the first to cross the finish line, in a personal record time of 2.06.22. “I’m hoping to tighten up my record, and I might even do better than that, who knows.”

Tiki Gelana found success early on in her career in Amsterdam. The 27-year old Ethiopian won in 2011. One year later she took the Olympic gold in London. Le Champion is proud to welcome her to the starting line once more. “I’m going for the course record”, she admitted today. “And I’m also hoping to qualify for Rio here”. Gelana has a personal record of 2.18.58. The course record was set in 2012 by Meseret Hailu and stands at 2.21.09.

Flomena Cheyech also has big plans for the fast IAAF Gold Label marathon. “The goal I have set for myself is to break the course record.” The experienced 33-year old Kenyan ran her fastest marathon in 2.22.44. She already demonstrated she is in excellent shape during a half marathon six weeks ago.

It is a rare treat to have the four strongest Dutch marathon runners, Butter, Nageeye, Choukoud and Koen Raymakers, at the starting line on Sunday. The athletes agree. “Really amazing and very motivating”, says Butter. “We can push each other to the next level”, adds Choukoud. The bar for the Olympic Games in Rio is set at 2 hours and 11 minutes. The trio in the Amstel Hotel is ready.

Butter has been preparing in Kenya, among other places, for the past few months. “All the training sessions have been right on the mark. This is the first time I’ve had a flawless preparation period”, says the 29-year old Castricum native, who ran the Amsterdam marathon in 2.09.58 in 2012. Butter had this to say about his race on Sunday: “The second half will be faster than the first half. I’m running with three very fast runners, so I’m just going to follow those guys. I’ll have to stay caged like a lion as long as possible, and then at 33/34 km I can take off.”

Nageeye radiated self-confidence. “2.08, without a doubt”, the 26-year old athlete concluded. His foundation is high-altitude training in Ethiopia. “I was easily able to keep up during all the training sessions. My teammates there think I can probably do 2.04/2.05. I’m excited about my level of performance and I can’t wait to see the results.”

Choukoud traveled to Morocco to finish up his preparation with high-altitude training. “It went really well.” The 29-year old The Hague native will take off at a half-marathon time of 64.45. “If I make 2.10.59 I’ll be happy. Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics”.

The line-up features a lot of other talent besides the Dutch men. “We have never seen so much talent in one group”, says Jos Hermens from Global Sports Communication. “It’s a large starting line-up with a couple of very fast runners. We’ll have to wait and see how the wind along the Amstel will affect them. It will be an interesting race, that’s for sure.”

The starting line-up this Sunday will feature nine runners whose times are under 2.06.33. Tsegaye

Mekonnen has the fastest personal record with 2.04.32, followed by Markos Geneti (2.04.54) and Jonathan Maiyo (2.04.56). Other favorites include Wilson Chebet, Bernard Kipyego, Abel Kirui, Dadi Yami, Feyisa Bekele and Chala Dechase.

The TCS Amsterdam Marathon, which is organized by Le Champion, reached its registration limit as early as August 9 this year. The organizers are expecting 44,028 participants from no less than 105 different countries.

The start of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon is Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the Olympic Stadium. The race can be followed live on Sunday in 137 countries, on Eurosport, among other stations, and via livestream at tcsamsterdammarathon.nl.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Meseret-Mengistu-leads-strong-Ethiopian-quartet-in-Frankfurt Thu, 01 Oct 2015 17:48:13 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Meseret-Mengistu-leads-strong-Ethiopian-quartet-in-Frankfurt http://www.frankfurt-marathon.com.

Meseret Mengistu will arrive in Frankfurt aiming to continue her winning streak. The 25 year-old has been unbeaten after a year and four races. In 2014 she won the forthcoming Cape Town Marathon in 2:30:56, but it was in April this year that she achieved a breakthrough performance. Mengistu triumphed on the streets of Paris with 2:23:26. She also has international experience at the shorter distances, having twice competed at the World Half Marathon Championships where she finished eleventh in 2008 and sixth in 2010.

Victory will be by no means a foregone conclusion for Mengistu in Frankfurt on 25th October. Among her rivals there will be runners with greater experience at the distance. One of them is Ashete Bekere who has a very similar personal best. In Dubai in January she improved to 2:23:43 yet, such was the quality of the field, it was only good enough for tenth place. Bekere has the advantage of knowing the course of the Frankfurt Marathon already, having finished third here a year ago in 2:24:59.

Another Ethiopian who makes the marathon her speciality is Dinknesh Mekash. Since 2012 she has been admirably consistent, running between 2:25 and 2:30 each year. While her personal best is 2:25:09 from Paris 2013, where she placed fourth, she won this year’s Mumbai Marathon in January despite difficult weather conditions with 2:30:00. The victory in India was the biggest success of her career so far.

Meseret Kitata is a relative newcomer to the marathon distance. Just 21 years old she was the surprise winner of the Rome Marathon this March with 2:30:25, which was her personal best. That is impressive progress for a runner who only began competing internationally in 2014.

With the German Championships included in the Frankfurt Marathon, Lisa Hahner will be among the favourites to win the national race. The 25 year-old last finished a marathon two years ago. It was in Frankfurt’s indoor finish of the “Festhalle” where she clocked her current personal best of 2:30:17. A series of injuries hindered her progress in 2014 and this spring, when she suffered a stress fracture in her fibula. However Lisa Hahner feels ready for a sub 2:30 personal best and intends to break the German Olympic qualifying standard for Rio next year. This stands at 2:28:30 and has yet to be achieved by a German runner.]]> http://www.frankfurt-marathon.com.

Meseret Mengistu will arrive in Frankfurt aiming to continue her winning streak. The 25 year-old has been unbeaten after a year and four races. In 2014 she won the forthcoming Cape Town Marathon in 2:30:56, but it was in April this year that she achieved a breakthrough performance. Mengistu triumphed on the streets of Paris with 2:23:26. She also has international experience at the shorter distances, having twice competed at the World Half Marathon Championships where she finished eleventh in 2008 and sixth in 2010.

Victory will be by no means a foregone conclusion for Mengistu in Frankfurt on 25th October. Among her rivals there will be runners with greater experience at the distance. One of them is Ashete Bekere who has a very similar personal best. In Dubai in January she improved to 2:23:43 yet, such was the quality of the field, it was only good enough for tenth place. Bekere has the advantage of knowing the course of the Frankfurt Marathon already, having finished third here a year ago in 2:24:59.

Another Ethiopian who makes the marathon her speciality is Dinknesh Mekash. Since 2012 she has been admirably consistent, running between 2:25 and 2:30 each year. While her personal best is 2:25:09 from Paris 2013, where she placed fourth, she won this year’s Mumbai Marathon in January despite difficult weather conditions with 2:30:00. The victory in India was the biggest success of her career so far.

Meseret Kitata is a relative newcomer to the marathon distance. Just 21 years old she was the surprise winner of the Rome Marathon this March with 2:30:25, which was her personal best. That is impressive progress for a runner who only began competing internationally in 2014.

With the German Championships included in the Frankfurt Marathon, Lisa Hahner will be among the favourites to win the national race. The 25 year-old last finished a marathon two years ago. It was in Frankfurt’s indoor finish of the “Festhalle” where she clocked her current personal best of 2:30:17. A series of injuries hindered her progress in 2014 and this spring, when she suffered a stress fracture in her fibula. However Lisa Hahner feels ready for a sub 2:30 personal best and intends to break the German Olympic qualifying standard for Rio next year. This stands at 2:28:30 and has yet to be achieved by a German runner.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Stellar-Field-for-Berlin-Marathon-2015 Thu, 24 Sep 2015 07:20:21 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Stellar-Field-for-Berlin-Marathon-2015
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, arguably the most successful marathon runner of the past twelve months, will join forces with two compatriots who occupy second and third spot in the all-time marathon rankings. In his last two triumphs over the classic distance - Chicago (2014) and London (2015) - Kipchoge already managed to beat elite fields of the highest quality. The former 5,000m world champion will now attempt to improve his personal best of 2:04:05 which he set here in Berlin in 2013, when he was beaten into second place by Wilson Kipsang, who himself ran a world record (2:03:23) that day. Kipchoge will certainly attempt to complete his hat-trick of wins even though he is up against extremely strong competition again: Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) is the third fastest marathon runner of all time, since finishing relatively close behind winner Dennis Kimetto when he set the current world record of 2:02:57 in last year's BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Mutai, who played a large part in maintaining the pace that made the record possible, crossed the line in 2:03:13. The third member of the formidable trio is his namesake Geoffrey Mutai (no relation) whose 2:03:02 in the 2011 Boston Marathon (course not eligible for records) was the fastest ever run over the distance at the time. He went on to win New York later that year and followed this up by winning the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2012.
All three of them have experience on the Berlin course, which is regarded as the fastest in the world. They will be there on the start line for exactly this reason - to improve their personal bests. How the story ends will be determined this weekend and will be partly dependent on weather conditions on the day.

Also a top class field in the women's race
In the women's race Aberu Kebede from Ethiopia leads the field. She won here in 2010 and 2012, and in the first of the two victories she set her personal best of 2:20:30, which remains her fastest time. Her strongest opponent is Kenya's Gladys Cherono who is the reigning half marathon world champion (2014), the African champion over 5000m and 10000m (2012) and winner of the world championship silver medal in the 10000m in Moscow (2013). At the start of this year she competed over the marathon distance for the first time and managed an outstanding performance of 2:20:03, showing great promise. The third main candidate for the title is Ethiopian Meseret Hailu, whose personal best is only slightly slower at 2:21:09 - set in her 2012 win in Amsterdam, the same year she was crowned half marathon world champion.

Press conferences will be held at the official BMW BERLIN-MARATHON hotel, the InterContinental: Wednesday (in-line skaters), Thursday (elite women) and Friday (elite men).]]>
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, arguably the most successful marathon runner of the past twelve months, will join forces with two compatriots who occupy second and third spot in the all-time marathon rankings. In his last two triumphs over the classic distance - Chicago (2014) and London (2015) - Kipchoge already managed to beat elite fields of the highest quality. The former 5,000m world champion will now attempt to improve his personal best of 2:04:05 which he set here in Berlin in 2013, when he was beaten into second place by Wilson Kipsang, who himself ran a world record (2:03:23) that day. Kipchoge will certainly attempt to complete his hat-trick of wins even though he is up against extremely strong competition again: Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) is the third fastest marathon runner of all time, since finishing relatively close behind winner Dennis Kimetto when he set the current world record of 2:02:57 in last year's BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Mutai, who played a large part in maintaining the pace that made the record possible, crossed the line in 2:03:13. The third member of the formidable trio is his namesake Geoffrey Mutai (no relation) whose 2:03:02 in the 2011 Boston Marathon (course not eligible for records) was the fastest ever run over the distance at the time. He went on to win New York later that year and followed this up by winning the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2012.
All three of them have experience on the Berlin course, which is regarded as the fastest in the world. They will be there on the start line for exactly this reason - to improve their personal bests. How the story ends will be determined this weekend and will be partly dependent on weather conditions on the day.

Also a top class field in the women's race
In the women's race Aberu Kebede from Ethiopia leads the field. She won here in 2010 and 2012, and in the first of the two victories she set her personal best of 2:20:30, which remains her fastest time. Her strongest opponent is Kenya's Gladys Cherono who is the reigning half marathon world champion (2014), the African champion over 5000m and 10000m (2012) and winner of the world championship silver medal in the 10000m in Moscow (2013). At the start of this year she competed over the marathon distance for the first time and managed an outstanding performance of 2:20:03, showing great promise. The third main candidate for the title is Ethiopian Meseret Hailu, whose personal best is only slightly slower at 2:21:09 - set in her 2012 win in Amsterdam, the same year she was crowned half marathon world champion.

Press conferences will be held at the official BMW BERLIN-MARATHON hotel, the InterContinental: Wednesday (in-line skaters), Thursday (elite women) and Friday (elite men).]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Entries-for-Amsterdam-Marathon-2015-closed Wed, 12 Aug 2015 13:45:35 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Entries-for-Amsterdam-Marathon-2015-closed
The TCS Amsterdam Marathon has been the most international sports event in the Netherlands for many years. Last year marathon runners from 93 different countries entered, while this number was still 80 for the 35th edition. Most foreigners come from Great Britain (4,100), followed by France (3,900), Germany (1,800), Belgium (1,540), Italy (1,200), Spain (850) and Brazil (800). Some of the countries that will participate for the first time include: the Bahamas, Gibraltar, Macau, Namibia and Vietnam.]]>
The TCS Amsterdam Marathon has been the most international sports event in the Netherlands for many years. Last year marathon runners from 93 different countries entered, while this number was still 80 for the 35th edition. Most foreigners come from Great Britain (4,100), followed by France (3,900), Germany (1,800), Belgium (1,540), Italy (1,200), Spain (850) and Brazil (800). Some of the countries that will participate for the first time include: the Bahamas, Gibraltar, Macau, Namibia and Vietnam.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Tips-from-a-Marathon-Master Fri, 07 Nov 2014 16:34:19 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Tips-from-a-Marathon-Master
Rotich accomplishes the tough preparation process in Kenya’s Ngong Hills, where she reckons she is fitter than a year ago in time for her title defence in the Athens Marathon, dubbed “The Authentic” by the historically aware race organisers. None other than the former marathon world record holder Paul Tergat based his training in that demanding terrain and these days he stands ready each morning to set out the day’s training plan to Rotich and her running partners.

“He is there seven days a week to set the programme for the big morning session, then in the evening we do easy jogging. This year I’ve trained harder and feel fitter than ever before,” said the quietly confident Rotich.

Athens is renowned as a tough marathon course, undulating with a particularly gruelling downhill last 10 km which pummels the runners’ quads after a series of climbs and descents from the race start in Marathon. The women’s event record stands at 2:31:06 and Joan Rotich was just over ten minutes slower in crossing the line last year for victory in the stadium which was the venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896.

But the words of Paul Tergat, the first man to break 2:05 in the marathon eleven years ago in Berlin, will ring in Joan Rotich’s ears when she stands on the start line beside the Marathon Flame at 9am on Sunday. “He says he believes I can break 2:30, a lifetime best for me,” said Rotich at the press conference at the Marathon Expo in central Athens on Thursday. That would mark a solid improvement on her current best of 2:33:56, set in finishing second in the German city of Muenster in September 2103.

The event record for the men’s race is 2:11:35, set by Raymond Bett two years ago. He is due to return while already in Athens and limbering up for a title challenge is last year’s third placer, fellow Kenyan David Rutoh.

“I’ve been thinking how I can improve and go one or two places better this time. I’m in the same training group in Kericho as Bernard Kitur. He was one of the pacemakers when Dennis Kimetto broke the world record in Berlin six weeks ago and I’ve been matching him stride for stride in training,” reflected the experienced Rutoh.

Kenyan talent can sometimes blaze brightly then be snuffed out almost as quickly but David Rutoh has a solid portfolio of performances. This includes a course record of 2:13:22 to win in Leiden in the Netherlands in mid-May, his most recent marathon. But reproducing a similar time on a course very different to the Dutch one will be a tough proposition in Athens.

At least one man on the start line on Sunday will savour the challenge ahead, come what may. Paco Borao is President of AIMS, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, so he needs no history lessons about the significance of the race venue. The Spaniard is happy to be running at all, four years into a renewed running career after being diagnosed with bowel cancer six years ago. Recovery from surgery took two years before he set out on the road to regain fitness. All that was preceded by a 22-year break from running. At the age of 68, the prospect of challenging his best of 3:15, set in Madrid in the mid-1980s, may be distant, but like 13,000 of his fellow competitors, he will relish running in the footsteps of marathon history.]]>
Rotich accomplishes the tough preparation process in Kenya’s Ngong Hills, where she reckons she is fitter than a year ago in time for her title defence in the Athens Marathon, dubbed “The Authentic” by the historically aware race organisers. None other than the former marathon world record holder Paul Tergat based his training in that demanding terrain and these days he stands ready each morning to set out the day’s training plan to Rotich and her running partners.

“He is there seven days a week to set the programme for the big morning session, then in the evening we do easy jogging. This year I’ve trained harder and feel fitter than ever before,” said the quietly confident Rotich.

Athens is renowned as a tough marathon course, undulating with a particularly gruelling downhill last 10 km which pummels the runners’ quads after a series of climbs and descents from the race start in Marathon. The women’s event record stands at 2:31:06 and Joan Rotich was just over ten minutes slower in crossing the line last year for victory in the stadium which was the venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896.

But the words of Paul Tergat, the first man to break 2:05 in the marathon eleven years ago in Berlin, will ring in Joan Rotich’s ears when she stands on the start line beside the Marathon Flame at 9am on Sunday. “He says he believes I can break 2:30, a lifetime best for me,” said Rotich at the press conference at the Marathon Expo in central Athens on Thursday. That would mark a solid improvement on her current best of 2:33:56, set in finishing second in the German city of Muenster in September 2103.

The event record for the men’s race is 2:11:35, set by Raymond Bett two years ago. He is due to return while already in Athens and limbering up for a title challenge is last year’s third placer, fellow Kenyan David Rutoh.

“I’ve been thinking how I can improve and go one or two places better this time. I’m in the same training group in Kericho as Bernard Kitur. He was one of the pacemakers when Dennis Kimetto broke the world record in Berlin six weeks ago and I’ve been matching him stride for stride in training,” reflected the experienced Rutoh.

Kenyan talent can sometimes blaze brightly then be snuffed out almost as quickly but David Rutoh has a solid portfolio of performances. This includes a course record of 2:13:22 to win in Leiden in the Netherlands in mid-May, his most recent marathon. But reproducing a similar time on a course very different to the Dutch one will be a tough proposition in Athens.

At least one man on the start line on Sunday will savour the challenge ahead, come what may. Paco Borao is President of AIMS, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, so he needs no history lessons about the significance of the race venue. The Spaniard is happy to be running at all, four years into a renewed running career after being diagnosed with bowel cancer six years ago. Recovery from surgery took two years before he set out on the road to regain fitness. All that was preceded by a 22-year break from running. At the age of 68, the prospect of challenging his best of 3:15, set in Madrid in the mid-1980s, may be distant, but like 13,000 of his fellow competitors, he will relish running in the footsteps of marathon history.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Mekonnen-aims-for-Ethiopian-record Fri, 24 Oct 2014 12:28:26 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Mekonnen-aims-for-Ethiopian-record
While Tsegaye Mekonnen hopes to become the first non-Kenyan men’s champion since 2001 there is also the possibilty that Germany’s oldest city marathon will have its first double Ethiopian win on Sunday. Aberu Kebede and Meselech Melkamu are strong contenders in the women’s race. They all appeared confident in Frankfurt.

Relaxed and looking ready for the challenge, Tsegaye Mekonnen talked to a group of journalists through an interpreter just hours after his arrival in Germany’s financial capital. After winning in Dubai Mekonnen ran his second marathon in London in April. After the relatively short preparation period he finished fifth in this high-class event
with 2:08:06. It was there that he finally met his idol: Haile Gebrselassie. The superstar surprisingly told him not to run Berlin but to go to Frankfurt for further improvement. “Haile told me that Wilson Kipsang ran two great races in Frankfurt,” said Mekonnen. Kipsang established the two fastest times ever run in Frankfurt with 2:04:57 in 2010 and 2:03:42 a year later. “Haile argued that beyond the 30 k mark it would be easier to run well in Frankfurt than in Berlin,” Mekonnen explained further.

The fastest teenager ever in the marathon intends to improve his unofficial world junior record (the IAAF does not list junior bests in the marathon). “On Sunday I want to break at least one record: I would be very proud if I could break Haile’s Ethiopian record, but a personal best would also be a success for me,” said the youngster. “I
am feeling stronger now than before the Dubai Marathon. I believe something is possible for me on Sunday.”

The reason why he is in the best form ever has to do with his success in Dubai. In the United Arab Emirates Mekonnen earned 200,000 Dollar, the highest prize money available in the sport. “The win in Dubai has changed my life. I was able to buy a house in Addis Abeba, I bought a car to be able to go to the training venues with it and I stopped school to concentrate fully on running. It is a completely different life for me now.”

When training near Addis Abeba Tsegaye Mekonnen regularly meets Aberu Kebede, who is the fastest woman entered into the BMW Frankfurt Marathon with a personal best of 2:20:30. “I believe that at present Aberu is the strongest Ethiopian woman marathon runner. I think she can run very well on Sunday,” said Mekonnen. “I have thought a long time where to run my autumn marathon. Berlin was an option, but I decided to come to Frankfurt,” said Kebede, who ran her personal best when winning Berlin in 2012. Her training partners Tirfi Tsegaye and Feyse Tadese took first and second in Berlin a month ago. Tsegaye clocked a personal best and a world lead of 2:20:18 while Tadese finished just nine seconds behind. However, reports from their coaches suggest that it was Kebede who was the strongest in training.

“It is my aim to break my personal best on Sunday,” said Kebede. “I believe it is possible to run even sub 2:20 if weather conditions are fine.” With Meselech Melkamu there is another Ethiopian top marathon runner in the field. “We will work together for a fast time,” said Kebede.

Melkamu is Frankfurt’s course record holder with a marathon debut time of 2:21:01 from 2012. “Two years ago the weather was very cold here. If conditions are good on Sunday then I want to improve my personal best,” said Melkamu, who will change her hair colour to golden a day before the race. When she won in 2012 in Frankfurt she had chosen that colour as well.

“Originally it was my plan to prepare for the Dubai Marathon in January. But my form was so good that I decided to run an autumn marathon and come back to Frankfurt,” said Meselech Melkamu.]]>
While Tsegaye Mekonnen hopes to become the first non-Kenyan men’s champion since 2001 there is also the possibilty that Germany’s oldest city marathon will have its first double Ethiopian win on Sunday. Aberu Kebede and Meselech Melkamu are strong contenders in the women’s race. They all appeared confident in Frankfurt.

Relaxed and looking ready for the challenge, Tsegaye Mekonnen talked to a group of journalists through an interpreter just hours after his arrival in Germany’s financial capital. After winning in Dubai Mekonnen ran his second marathon in London in April. After the relatively short preparation period he finished fifth in this high-class event
with 2:08:06. It was there that he finally met his idol: Haile Gebrselassie. The superstar surprisingly told him not to run Berlin but to go to Frankfurt for further improvement. “Haile told me that Wilson Kipsang ran two great races in Frankfurt,” said Mekonnen. Kipsang established the two fastest times ever run in Frankfurt with 2:04:57 in 2010 and 2:03:42 a year later. “Haile argued that beyond the 30 k mark it would be easier to run well in Frankfurt than in Berlin,” Mekonnen explained further.

The fastest teenager ever in the marathon intends to improve his unofficial world junior record (the IAAF does not list junior bests in the marathon). “On Sunday I want to break at least one record: I would be very proud if I could break Haile’s Ethiopian record, but a personal best would also be a success for me,” said the youngster. “I
am feeling stronger now than before the Dubai Marathon. I believe something is possible for me on Sunday.”

The reason why he is in the best form ever has to do with his success in Dubai. In the United Arab Emirates Mekonnen earned 200,000 Dollar, the highest prize money available in the sport. “The win in Dubai has changed my life. I was able to buy a house in Addis Abeba, I bought a car to be able to go to the training venues with it and I stopped school to concentrate fully on running. It is a completely different life for me now.”

When training near Addis Abeba Tsegaye Mekonnen regularly meets Aberu Kebede, who is the fastest woman entered into the BMW Frankfurt Marathon with a personal best of 2:20:30. “I believe that at present Aberu is the strongest Ethiopian woman marathon runner. I think she can run very well on Sunday,” said Mekonnen. “I have thought a long time where to run my autumn marathon. Berlin was an option, but I decided to come to Frankfurt,” said Kebede, who ran her personal best when winning Berlin in 2012. Her training partners Tirfi Tsegaye and Feyse Tadese took first and second in Berlin a month ago. Tsegaye clocked a personal best and a world lead of 2:20:18 while Tadese finished just nine seconds behind. However, reports from their coaches suggest that it was Kebede who was the strongest in training.

“It is my aim to break my personal best on Sunday,” said Kebede. “I believe it is possible to run even sub 2:20 if weather conditions are fine.” With Meselech Melkamu there is another Ethiopian top marathon runner in the field. “We will work together for a fast time,” said Kebede.

Melkamu is Frankfurt’s course record holder with a marathon debut time of 2:21:01 from 2012. “Two years ago the weather was very cold here. If conditions are good on Sunday then I want to improve my personal best,” said Melkamu, who will change her hair colour to golden a day before the race. When she won in 2012 in Frankfurt she had chosen that colour as well.

“Originally it was my plan to prepare for the Dubai Marathon in January. But my form was so good that I decided to run an autumn marathon and come back to Frankfurt,” said Meselech Melkamu.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Chepkirui-returns-to-Berlin Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:15:02 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Chepkirui-returns-to-Berlin
The primary goal in the women’s race will be to improve the current world leading 10 k time of 30:46 minutes. This was recently established by Kenya’s Betsy Saina in Tilburg. Joyce Chepkirui feels she is ready to run such a time and hopes to go even faster on Sunday.

However Chepkirui will face a strong challenge from two fellow-Kenyans. Emily Chebet is the reigning World Cross Country Champion. She won this title in 2013 for the second time after 2010. In 2013 she was fourth in the 10,000 m final of the World Championships in Moscow. Chebet’s personal best at 10 k stands at 30:58. Margaret Wangari Muriuki came back from injury in the spring with a 10 k win in Wuerzburg (Germany). She ran a 31:14 course record there and missed her personal best by just nine seconds.

A year after a thrilling duel in the Prague 10 k race Kenya’s Daniel Chebii and Ethiopia’s Kinde Atanaw will clash again at this distance. It was Chebii who won in Prague with a personal best of 27:35. But he was just one second ahead of Atanaw,
who ran a PB as well. The personal record of Wilson Too is just a few seconds slower. The Kenyan showed good form earlier this year, when he won the 10 k in Laredo (Spain) with 27:39. Two Kenyans will run their first race in Europe on Sunday: Daniel Kiprotich and Reuben Maiyo could be in for a surprise.

German interest will focus on Arne Gabius, who uses the Asics Grand 10 as a test race for his marathon debut in Frankfurt on 26th October. The 33 year-old European 5,000 m silver medallist from 2012 intends to improve his personal best of 28:35. Gabius ran a fine half marathon debut in March, when he placed eighth in New York with 62:09.]]>
The primary goal in the women’s race will be to improve the current world leading 10 k time of 30:46 minutes. This was recently established by Kenya’s Betsy Saina in Tilburg. Joyce Chepkirui feels she is ready to run such a time and hopes to go even faster on Sunday.

However Chepkirui will face a strong challenge from two fellow-Kenyans. Emily Chebet is the reigning World Cross Country Champion. She won this title in 2013 for the second time after 2010. In 2013 she was fourth in the 10,000 m final of the World Championships in Moscow. Chebet’s personal best at 10 k stands at 30:58. Margaret Wangari Muriuki came back from injury in the spring with a 10 k win in Wuerzburg (Germany). She ran a 31:14 course record there and missed her personal best by just nine seconds.

A year after a thrilling duel in the Prague 10 k race Kenya’s Daniel Chebii and Ethiopia’s Kinde Atanaw will clash again at this distance. It was Chebii who won in Prague with a personal best of 27:35. But he was just one second ahead of Atanaw,
who ran a PB as well. The personal record of Wilson Too is just a few seconds slower. The Kenyan showed good form earlier this year, when he won the 10 k in Laredo (Spain) with 27:39. Two Kenyans will run their first race in Europe on Sunday: Daniel Kiprotich and Reuben Maiyo could be in for a surprise.

German interest will focus on Arne Gabius, who uses the Asics Grand 10 as a test race for his marathon debut in Frankfurt on 26th October. The 33 year-old European 5,000 m silver medallist from 2012 intends to improve his personal best of 28:35. Gabius ran a fine half marathon debut in March, when he placed eighth in New York with 62:09.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Berlin-Trio-aim-to-break-the-2-20-barrier Thu, 25 Sep 2014 18:03:56 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Berlin-Trio-aim-to-break-the-2-20-barrier BERLIN MARATHON is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and a World Marathon Majors (WMM) event.

Tirfi Tsegaye lives in Addis Ababa but hails from Oromia, one of the most fertile sources of Ethiopia running talent, including Kenenise Bekele. The winner of the Paris title two years ago, Dubai last year and Tokyo this February is very much aware of that heritage.

“I’m proud to come from Oromia and to have grown up in the capital of Arsi. I know all about our running tradition and want to represent that here on the streets of Berlin.”

To that effect she and training partner but rival on Sunday Feyse Tadese will be aiming to join the three Ethiopian women who are already members of the sub 2:20 club, headed by the 2012 Olympic champion Tiki Gelana with her 2:18:58. Feyse Tadese will be the fastest woman in the field, thanks to her 2:21:06 to win the Paris title last year. Tirfi and Feyse will leave friendship behind once on the start line, but, according to the former, the subject was never raised in their Addis training base.

“We never discussed who might be strongest. Training is about helping each other, then comes the race on Sunday. I know my preparation has gone well and I feel I have a strong chance on improving my best of 2:21:19 when I finished second in Berlin two years ago.”

Shalane Flanagan arrived in Berlin last Friday (September 19) with her mission clear cut: breaking the US record of 2:19:36 set by Deena Kastor in London in 2006. That would be an improvement of 2:26 for the American record holder at 10,000m on the track. She paid the price for a fast early pace in Boston in April, but set a personal best in her home town of 2:22:02 for seventh place. Paying attention to detail, such as course variations and using landmarks as guides, is part of her meticulous approach.

“Every athlete is different but I like to go over a course and get to know it. We’ve had a guide take us around, note where the corners are, where the crowds are biggest. I can use that, imagining that I can draw on their energy when it gets tough.”

Tough it will get, as Flanagan readily acknowledges. Contemplating a consistent pace of 5:19 per mile to break 2:20 is a daunting prospect, especially for the latter stages. Part of her motivation is a desire to create landmarks in what has been a distinguished career, highlighted so far by an Olympic bronze medal for 10,000m in 2008.

“I feel strongly that I want to run well in the marathon as part of a legacy, to show what I have done in my running career. Growing up in Boston, I would watch the marathon and wonder how the elite women could run so fast, since my mile time as a girl was slower than their mile splits for the entire race.”

The marathon could provide a surprise package in the shape of Ethiopia’s Tadelech Bekele. Already well known in Berlin, having won the city’s half marathon in late March. Her time of 70:05 didn’t make many headlines but what served notice of potential was her winning performance in the Berlin 10k last October. Tadelech’s time of 30:38 was the seventh fastest in history. She ventures into the unknown for the marathon, but some solid building blocks are in place for a distinguished future.

All the contenders come to Berlin in search of speed, attracted by the course’s reputation for record-breaking at this time of year. Japan’s Kayuko Fukushi, a marathon bronze medallist at the 2013 World Championships, gave a succinct response to why she chose the German capital for an attempt on her personal best of 2:24:21 from runner-up spot in Osaka last year.

“I know the three Japanese women who have broken 2:20 here, Mizuki Noguchi, Naoko Takahashi and Yoko Shibui. They didn’t give me special tips, just said, it’s a fast course, enjoy the atmosphere and have a good trip.”

Sentiments which are likely to be shared by a little over 40,000 runners of all abilities and ages who will line up on the Avenue of June 17 in the heart Berlin’s Tiergarten park on Sunday morning.

Women’s Elite Field for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday, September 28:

Feyse Tadese ETH 2:21:06
Tirfi Tsegaye ETH 2:21:19
Shalane Flanagan USA 2:22:02
Abebech Afework KEN 2:23:59
Kayoko Fukushi JPN 2:24:21
Margarita Plaksina RUS 2:27:07
Anna Hahner GER 2:27:55
Ines Melchor PER 2:28:54
Adriana da Silva BRA 2:29:17
Rene Kalmer RSA 2:29:59
Michele das Chagas BRA 2:35:09
Tadelech Bekele ETH Debut]]> BERLIN MARATHON is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and a World Marathon Majors (WMM) event.

Tirfi Tsegaye lives in Addis Ababa but hails from Oromia, one of the most fertile sources of Ethiopia running talent, including Kenenise Bekele. The winner of the Paris title two years ago, Dubai last year and Tokyo this February is very much aware of that heritage.

“I’m proud to come from Oromia and to have grown up in the capital of Arsi. I know all about our running tradition and want to represent that here on the streets of Berlin.”

To that effect she and training partner but rival on Sunday Feyse Tadese will be aiming to join the three Ethiopian women who are already members of the sub 2:20 club, headed by the 2012 Olympic champion Tiki Gelana with her 2:18:58. Feyse Tadese will be the fastest woman in the field, thanks to her 2:21:06 to win the Paris title last year. Tirfi and Feyse will leave friendship behind once on the start line, but, according to the former, the subject was never raised in their Addis training base.

“We never discussed who might be strongest. Training is about helping each other, then comes the race on Sunday. I know my preparation has gone well and I feel I have a strong chance on improving my best of 2:21:19 when I finished second in Berlin two years ago.”

Shalane Flanagan arrived in Berlin last Friday (September 19) with her mission clear cut: breaking the US record of 2:19:36 set by Deena Kastor in London in 2006. That would be an improvement of 2:26 for the American record holder at 10,000m on the track. She paid the price for a fast early pace in Boston in April, but set a personal best in her home town of 2:22:02 for seventh place. Paying attention to detail, such as course variations and using landmarks as guides, is part of her meticulous approach.

“Every athlete is different but I like to go over a course and get to know it. We’ve had a guide take us around, note where the corners are, where the crowds are biggest. I can use that, imagining that I can draw on their energy when it gets tough.”

Tough it will get, as Flanagan readily acknowledges. Contemplating a consistent pace of 5:19 per mile to break 2:20 is a daunting prospect, especially for the latter stages. Part of her motivation is a desire to create landmarks in what has been a distinguished career, highlighted so far by an Olympic bronze medal for 10,000m in 2008.

“I feel strongly that I want to run well in the marathon as part of a legacy, to show what I have done in my running career. Growing up in Boston, I would watch the marathon and wonder how the elite women could run so fast, since my mile time as a girl was slower than their mile splits for the entire race.”

The marathon could provide a surprise package in the shape of Ethiopia’s Tadelech Bekele. Already well known in Berlin, having won the city’s half marathon in late March. Her time of 70:05 didn’t make many headlines but what served notice of potential was her winning performance in the Berlin 10k last October. Tadelech’s time of 30:38 was the seventh fastest in history. She ventures into the unknown for the marathon, but some solid building blocks are in place for a distinguished future.

All the contenders come to Berlin in search of speed, attracted by the course’s reputation for record-breaking at this time of year. Japan’s Kayuko Fukushi, a marathon bronze medallist at the 2013 World Championships, gave a succinct response to why she chose the German capital for an attempt on her personal best of 2:24:21 from runner-up spot in Osaka last year.

“I know the three Japanese women who have broken 2:20 here, Mizuki Noguchi, Naoko Takahashi and Yoko Shibui. They didn’t give me special tips, just said, it’s a fast course, enjoy the atmosphere and have a good trip.”

Sentiments which are likely to be shared by a little over 40,000 runners of all abilities and ages who will line up on the Avenue of June 17 in the heart Berlin’s Tiergarten park on Sunday morning.

Women’s Elite Field for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday, September 28:

Feyse Tadese ETH 2:21:06
Tirfi Tsegaye ETH 2:21:19
Shalane Flanagan USA 2:22:02
Abebech Afework KEN 2:23:59
Kayoko Fukushi JPN 2:24:21
Margarita Plaksina RUS 2:27:07
Anna Hahner GER 2:27:55
Ines Melchor PER 2:28:54
Adriana da Silva BRA 2:29:17
Rene Kalmer RSA 2:29:59
Michele das Chagas BRA 2:35:09
Tadelech Bekele ETH Debut]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Registration-for-the-2015-Boston-Marathon Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:34:59 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Registration-for-the-2015-Boston-Marathon
BOSTON - Registration for the 2015 Boston Marathon will reopen on Monday, September 15, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will continue through Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

During this period, any eligible qualifier may submit an application for entry. Entry is not first-come, first-served during this period.

The B.A.A. opened registration on September 8 and through the course of last week accepted entry submissions from qualifiers through a systematic process by which those who are among the fastest of all to have achieved the qualifying mark for their age and gender would be able to enter first. From September 8 through September 13, the B.A.A. received approximately 16,000 registration submissions. At the conclusion of the next phase of registration, the B.A.A. will accept up to 8,000 additional qualifiers.

Due to field size limitations, it is possible that not all qualifiers who submit an entry will be accepted. If more runners apply than can be accepted, then acceptance will be granted to the fastest qualifiers among the applicants. Those not accepted for entry due to field size limitations also will receive an email from the B.A.A. at the conclusion of the application period.

The field for the 2015 Boston Marathon will be comprised of more than 80% qualifiers, which is a percentage equal or greater to recent past years. Part of the field is comprised annually of invitational entries, including allocations reserved for elite athletes, those running for charitable organizations, sponsors, and community participation.

The field size limit for the 2015 Boston Marathon is 30,000 official entrants. The field size for the 2013 Boston Marathon was 27,000 official entrants. Working in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the eight cities and towns along the course, the B.A.A. increased the field size for the special 2014 Boston Marathon to 36,000 official entrants. Participants in the 2014 Boston Marathon fundraised more than $38.4 million to benefit local non-profit organizations, and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated the economic impact of the most recent event at $175.8 million.]]>
BOSTON - Registration for the 2015 Boston Marathon will reopen on Monday, September 15, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will continue through Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

During this period, any eligible qualifier may submit an application for entry. Entry is not first-come, first-served during this period.

The B.A.A. opened registration on September 8 and through the course of last week accepted entry submissions from qualifiers through a systematic process by which those who are among the fastest of all to have achieved the qualifying mark for their age and gender would be able to enter first. From September 8 through September 13, the B.A.A. received approximately 16,000 registration submissions. At the conclusion of the next phase of registration, the B.A.A. will accept up to 8,000 additional qualifiers.

Due to field size limitations, it is possible that not all qualifiers who submit an entry will be accepted. If more runners apply than can be accepted, then acceptance will be granted to the fastest qualifiers among the applicants. Those not accepted for entry due to field size limitations also will receive an email from the B.A.A. at the conclusion of the application period.

The field for the 2015 Boston Marathon will be comprised of more than 80% qualifiers, which is a percentage equal or greater to recent past years. Part of the field is comprised annually of invitational entries, including allocations reserved for elite athletes, those running for charitable organizations, sponsors, and community participation.

The field size limit for the 2015 Boston Marathon is 30,000 official entrants. The field size for the 2013 Boston Marathon was 27,000 official entrants. Working in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the eight cities and towns along the course, the B.A.A. increased the field size for the special 2014 Boston Marathon to 36,000 official entrants. Participants in the 2014 Boston Marathon fundraised more than $38.4 million to benefit local non-profit organizations, and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated the economic impact of the most recent event at $175.8 million.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Moses-Mosop-chases-Prague-victory Fri, 09 May 2014 14:36:54 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Moses-Mosop-chases-Prague-victory Prague Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Race, the top category of road races awarded by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

“I am happy to be in Prague. It is a nice city and I want to win here on Sunday,” said Moses Mosop, who originally planned to run the Boston Marathon on Easter Monday. However, injuries forced him to withdraw. “First I had a problem in my right knee and then in my left calf. I missed around three weeks of training. So I could not go to Boston but I thought I could still run a marathon later in the season. That is why I am here,” said the 28 year-old Kenyan.

Mosop is the second fastest marathoner of all time with 2:03:06. He ran this in his debut marathon in Boston 2011 where he finished second. However the course does not meet requirements for world records. “It was my first marathon, so this was a great result for me. I have still time to run such a time again in the future (on a standard course),” he said, when asked about his feelings concerning his Boston PB.

“I have not competed for a long time, so I will have to see how it goes on Sunday. I am not 100 percent, but I hope to run well,” said Mosop, who last competed in the Chicago Marathon in autumn 2013 where he finished eighth with 2:11:19. He hopes to be much faster in Prague. “If all is fine with my knee may be 2:05 to 2:06 is possible. We might even give it a go at the course record,” said Mosop, who will be supported by pacemaker Peter Kirui on Sunday.

Mosop prepared in Eldoret for the Volkswagen Prague Marathon and among his training partners were Wilson Chebet and Sammy Kitwara. Occasionally the world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang joins the group of “Big Engine”. Mosop explained how he got the nickname many years ago: “I was a junior runner and supposed to run with the juniors. But I insisted to go with the seniors and was ahead of them. That is when they called me ‘Big Engine’”

Mosop will need a ‘Big Engine’ on Sunday to succeed in Prague. A dozen runners are on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:10. Including Mosop there are five who have run below 2:07. Among his rivals is the defending champion Nicholas Kemboi. Born in Kenya and now running for Qatar, he has a PB of 2:08:01. In warm weather conditions he won with 2:08:51 in Prague a year ago. But the toughest challenge for Mosop might come from Ethiopians Dadi Yami and Deresa Chimsa who have personal bests of 2:05:41 and 2:05:42.

The women’s race could produce a duel between Kenya’s Flomena Chepchirchir and Ethiopia’s Firehiwot Dado. Chepchirchir, who was second in the Volkswagen Prague Marathon two years ago, clocked her personal best of 2:23:00 as a runner-up in the Frankfurt Marathon 2013. It will be Chepchirchir’s second marathon attempt within a month since she dropped out of Boston on Easter Monday. This is why Dado is regarded as the favourite in Prague. “It makes it tougher if you are the favourite, but I am in good form. So I think that I can win and run a good time,” said Dado, who clocked her PB of 2:23:15 when she won the New York Marathon in 2011.

A record number of 10,000 runners from 91 nations entered the Volkswagen Prague Marathon and maximum capacity was reached months ago. Celebrating the 20th edition of their event, organisers from Run Czech welcome a number of former world-class runners and personalities of the sport as guests of honour. Among them are Norway’s former world marathon record holder Ingrid Kristiansen and the Olympic marathon champion from Seoul 1988, Gelindo Bordin. The Italian is one of the founding members of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, together with Carlo Capalbo and the legendary Emil Zatopek. “When we started back in 1995 it was our aim to build a small version of the New York City Marathon. Today our race belongs to the best marathons in the world”, said Capalbo, who is the President of the Organising Committee of Run Czech.

There will be live streaming of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, which will start at 9 am on Sunday. Further information will be given on the Run Czech website runczech.com in due time.

Updated Leading Men Contenders:
Moses Mosop KEN 2:03:06
Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2:05:39
Dadi Yami ETH 2:05:41
Deresa Chimsa ETH 2:05:42
Nicholas Manza KEN 2:06:34
Nicholas Kipkemboi KEN 2:06:35
Yared Asmerom ERI 2:07:27
Nicholas Kemboi QAT 2:08:01
Abere Kassw ETH 2:08:15
Patrick Terer KEN 2:08:52
Kennedy Kwemoi Nabei KEN 2:09:54
Asmare Workneh ETH 2:09:56
Wesley Langat KEN 2:10:40
Evans Chebet KEN 2:11:26

Updated Leading Women Contenders:
Flomena Chepchirchir KEN 2:23:00
Firehiwot Dado ETH 2:23:15
Aberu Mekuria ETH 2:26:07
Yeshimebet Tadesse ETH 2:26:17
Yuliya Ruban UKR 2:27:00
Eunice Kales KEN 2:27:19
Fantu Eticha ETH 2:27:36
Beatrice Jepkemboi KEN 2:27:41
Konjit Tilahun ETH 2:28:11
Iulia Andreeva KRG 2:30:57]]> Prague Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Race, the top category of road races awarded by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

“I am happy to be in Prague. It is a nice city and I want to win here on Sunday,” said Moses Mosop, who originally planned to run the Boston Marathon on Easter Monday. However, injuries forced him to withdraw. “First I had a problem in my right knee and then in my left calf. I missed around three weeks of training. So I could not go to Boston but I thought I could still run a marathon later in the season. That is why I am here,” said the 28 year-old Kenyan.

Mosop is the second fastest marathoner of all time with 2:03:06. He ran this in his debut marathon in Boston 2011 where he finished second. However the course does not meet requirements for world records. “It was my first marathon, so this was a great result for me. I have still time to run such a time again in the future (on a standard course),” he said, when asked about his feelings concerning his Boston PB.

“I have not competed for a long time, so I will have to see how it goes on Sunday. I am not 100 percent, but I hope to run well,” said Mosop, who last competed in the Chicago Marathon in autumn 2013 where he finished eighth with 2:11:19. He hopes to be much faster in Prague. “If all is fine with my knee may be 2:05 to 2:06 is possible. We might even give it a go at the course record,” said Mosop, who will be supported by pacemaker Peter Kirui on Sunday.

Mosop prepared in Eldoret for the Volkswagen Prague Marathon and among his training partners were Wilson Chebet and Sammy Kitwara. Occasionally the world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang joins the group of “Big Engine”. Mosop explained how he got the nickname many years ago: “I was a junior runner and supposed to run with the juniors. But I insisted to go with the seniors and was ahead of them. That is when they called me ‘Big Engine’”

Mosop will need a ‘Big Engine’ on Sunday to succeed in Prague. A dozen runners are on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:10. Including Mosop there are five who have run below 2:07. Among his rivals is the defending champion Nicholas Kemboi. Born in Kenya and now running for Qatar, he has a PB of 2:08:01. In warm weather conditions he won with 2:08:51 in Prague a year ago. But the toughest challenge for Mosop might come from Ethiopians Dadi Yami and Deresa Chimsa who have personal bests of 2:05:41 and 2:05:42.

The women’s race could produce a duel between Kenya’s Flomena Chepchirchir and Ethiopia’s Firehiwot Dado. Chepchirchir, who was second in the Volkswagen Prague Marathon two years ago, clocked her personal best of 2:23:00 as a runner-up in the Frankfurt Marathon 2013. It will be Chepchirchir’s second marathon attempt within a month since she dropped out of Boston on Easter Monday. This is why Dado is regarded as the favourite in Prague. “It makes it tougher if you are the favourite, but I am in good form. So I think that I can win and run a good time,” said Dado, who clocked her PB of 2:23:15 when she won the New York Marathon in 2011.

A record number of 10,000 runners from 91 nations entered the Volkswagen Prague Marathon and maximum capacity was reached months ago. Celebrating the 20th edition of their event, organisers from Run Czech welcome a number of former world-class runners and personalities of the sport as guests of honour. Among them are Norway’s former world marathon record holder Ingrid Kristiansen and the Olympic marathon champion from Seoul 1988, Gelindo Bordin. The Italian is one of the founding members of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, together with Carlo Capalbo and the legendary Emil Zatopek. “When we started back in 1995 it was our aim to build a small version of the New York City Marathon. Today our race belongs to the best marathons in the world”, said Capalbo, who is the President of the Organising Committee of Run Czech.

There will be live streaming of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, which will start at 9 am on Sunday. Further information will be given on the Run Czech website runczech.com in due time.

Updated Leading Men Contenders:
Moses Mosop KEN 2:03:06
Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2:05:39
Dadi Yami ETH 2:05:41
Deresa Chimsa ETH 2:05:42
Nicholas Manza KEN 2:06:34
Nicholas Kipkemboi KEN 2:06:35
Yared Asmerom ERI 2:07:27
Nicholas Kemboi QAT 2:08:01
Abere Kassw ETH 2:08:15
Patrick Terer KEN 2:08:52
Kennedy Kwemoi Nabei KEN 2:09:54
Asmare Workneh ETH 2:09:56
Wesley Langat KEN 2:10:40
Evans Chebet KEN 2:11:26

Updated Leading Women Contenders:
Flomena Chepchirchir KEN 2:23:00
Firehiwot Dado ETH 2:23:15
Aberu Mekuria ETH 2:26:07
Yeshimebet Tadesse ETH 2:26:17
Yuliya Ruban UKR 2:27:00
Eunice Kales KEN 2:27:19
Fantu Eticha ETH 2:27:36
Beatrice Jepkemboi KEN 2:27:41
Konjit Tilahun ETH 2:28:11
Iulia Andreeva KRG 2:30:57]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Thousands-set-for-Warsaw-Marathon-2014 Fri, 11 Apr 2014 15:15:52 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Thousands-set-for-Warsaw-Marathon-2014
Those taking part in the second ORLEN Warsaw Marathon will compete at two distances: the full marathon and 10 km. One day prior to the main event, a 4.6 km charity walk departing from the very heart of the city – Castle Square – will be held as well. The route will pass through Warsaw’s best-known streets and will finish in front of the National Stadium – Poland’s most spectacular sports arena.

Running elite challenge

This year’s ORLEN Warsaw Marathon will definitely not be lacking in emotion as the true elite of world-class runners will be taking part. The marathon favourites include the best athletes from around the world, such as Ukraine’s Dmytro Baranovskyy (personal best of 02:07:15), and a large group of African long-distance runners: Tadese Tola (Ethiopia, 02:04:49), Levy Matebo Omari (Kenya, 2:05:16), Megersa Bacha (Ethiopia, 02:06:56), John Kipkorir Komen (Kenya, 02:07:13), Jakob Korir Cheshari (Kenya, 02:07:46), Gilbert Chepkoweny (Kenya, 02:08:16) and last year’s ORLEN Warsaw Marathon winner Sisay Lemma (Ethiopia, 02:09:02), as well as Henryk Szost – the quickest European at the London Olympic Games. Victory in the ladies’ category will definitely be sought by Ethiopia’s Askale Magarsa Tafa (personal best of 02:21:31) and Kenya’s Rebecca Chesire, who boasts a personal best of 02:27:52.

A picturesque route

Warsaw is a dynamically growing, attractive city that has not been fully discovered by runners yet. Participation in the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon offers the opportunity to get to know the city’s most picturesque and famous landmarks as the route will take runners over the Poniatowski and Świętokrzyski bridges, along Ujazdowskie Avenue and past the monument of Marshal Józef Piłsudski and the historic Łazienki Królewskie gardens. With the comfort and safety of the marathon runners in mind, the organisers have planned a record-inducing, flat route for the event, which should suit those who prefer long straight sections on which a high pace can be maintained.

Starter packages and attractions

The runners will be encouraged to give their best both by the residents of Warsaw and by volunteers willing to help all those in need. In addition, participants will be motivated by attractive prizes. The quickest competitors will receive substantial prize money, and all those who finish the marathon and the 10 km run will take part in draw for attractive prizes, including two Mercedes GLA cars (for marathon runners) and a Smart ForTwo Coupe (for those taking part in the 10 km race).]]>
Those taking part in the second ORLEN Warsaw Marathon will compete at two distances: the full marathon and 10 km. One day prior to the main event, a 4.6 km charity walk departing from the very heart of the city – Castle Square – will be held as well. The route will pass through Warsaw’s best-known streets and will finish in front of the National Stadium – Poland’s most spectacular sports arena.

Running elite challenge

This year’s ORLEN Warsaw Marathon will definitely not be lacking in emotion as the true elite of world-class runners will be taking part. The marathon favourites include the best athletes from around the world, such as Ukraine’s Dmytro Baranovskyy (personal best of 02:07:15), and a large group of African long-distance runners: Tadese Tola (Ethiopia, 02:04:49), Levy Matebo Omari (Kenya, 2:05:16), Megersa Bacha (Ethiopia, 02:06:56), John Kipkorir Komen (Kenya, 02:07:13), Jakob Korir Cheshari (Kenya, 02:07:46), Gilbert Chepkoweny (Kenya, 02:08:16) and last year’s ORLEN Warsaw Marathon winner Sisay Lemma (Ethiopia, 02:09:02), as well as Henryk Szost – the quickest European at the London Olympic Games. Victory in the ladies’ category will definitely be sought by Ethiopia’s Askale Magarsa Tafa (personal best of 02:21:31) and Kenya’s Rebecca Chesire, who boasts a personal best of 02:27:52.

A picturesque route

Warsaw is a dynamically growing, attractive city that has not been fully discovered by runners yet. Participation in the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon offers the opportunity to get to know the city’s most picturesque and famous landmarks as the route will take runners over the Poniatowski and Świętokrzyski bridges, along Ujazdowskie Avenue and past the monument of Marshal Józef Piłsudski and the historic Łazienki Królewskie gardens. With the comfort and safety of the marathon runners in mind, the organisers have planned a record-inducing, flat route for the event, which should suit those who prefer long straight sections on which a high pace can be maintained.

Starter packages and attractions

The runners will be encouraged to give their best both by the residents of Warsaw and by volunteers willing to help all those in need. In addition, participants will be motivated by attractive prizes. The quickest competitors will receive substantial prize money, and all those who finish the marathon and the 10 km run will take part in draw for attractive prizes, including two Mercedes GLA cars (for marathon runners) and a Smart ForTwo Coupe (for those taking part in the 10 km race).]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Henry-Sugut-and-Getu-Feleke-lead-field Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:16:17 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Henry-Sugut-and-Getu-Feleke-lead-field
Regarding this mark the only spring marathon that surpasses Vienna will be the Boston Marathon on 21st April. Among those athletes there will be the defending champion and three time winner Henry Sugut of Kenya and Getu Feleke. With a personal best of 2:04:50 the Ethiopian is the fastest runner ever entered into the Vienna City Marathon. Sugut is the course record holder with 2:06:58. Including shorter running event staged on Sunday organisers registered a record total of around 42,000 athletes for the 31st edition, which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

A live stream of the race will be shown on vienna-marathon.com on Sunday. Additionally there will be English live web reporting available. The race starts at 9 am Central European Time.

For Henry Sugut Vienna is already some sort of second home. He won the race in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The 28 year-old established the present course record of 2:06:58 two years ago. This is also his personal best. “Yes, you could say that Vienna is almost my living room,” he replied during the press conference. “It is a big motivation to have the chance to win the race for the fourth time. I want to make history in Austria,” said Sugut, who could become the only runner in the history of the race to achieve four victories.

“My training has gone very well and I am ready. I think I am able to break my personal best on Sunday. The weather forecast sounds ideal for me,” said Sugut. Overcast skies and temperatures between 13 and 16 Celsius with little wind are forecasted. Sugut lives in Eldoret but he does most of his training in Kaptabet. “Among my training partners is Geoffrey Kipsang. The fact that he won the World Half Marathon Championships recently is a good sign and a motivation for me. We help each other in training,” explained Sugut.

“For me the most diffcilut part during the race is always when the pacemakers drop out,” said Sugut. Half way pace is planned for 63:00 minutes and pacemakers are supposed to continue until the 30 k mark. “It then depends on how my body feels. If it is possible I will attack and try to run away.”

Asked about the long standing rivalry between Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners Sugut explained: “Generally we are friends. But at a certain stage during the race everone becomes an enemy. We will support each other. But from the 30 k mark onwards the fun is over!” Ethiopia’s Getu Feleke agreed with this view. The toughest challenge for Sugut might well come from him on Sunday:

Feleke’s marathon career started in Vienna five years ago. In a unique debutants’ only race he finished seventh with 2:11:47. “For me that was a good race for a start. I had no knowledge about the marathon before,” said Feleke, who significantly improved in the following years. In April 2012 he was second in Rotterdam with 2:04:50. “I was not fast enough on the final two kilometres, otherwise I could have won in Rotterdam,” said Feleke, who runs up to 280 kilometres per week in training in Addis Abeba. Coached by Getaneh Tessema among his training partners is Tsegaye Kebede, who will run in London on Sunday. A year ago Feleke took another second place in Rotterdam. In warm weather conditions he finished with 2:06:45. He might have to run faster to take victory in Vienna on Sunday.

Main contenders for the Vienna City Marathon:
Getu Feleke ETH 2:04:50
Philip Kimutai KEN 2:06:07
Henry Sugut KEN 2:06:58
John Kiprotich KEN 2:07:08
Alfred Kering KEN 2:07:11
Moses Kigen KEN 2:07:45
Duncan Koech KEN 2:07:53
Geoffrey Ndungu KEN 2:08:35
Ryo Yamamoto JPN 2:08:44
Maswai Kiptanui KEN 2:08:53
Oleksandr Sitkovskyy UKR 2:09:14
Felix Kiprotich KEN 2:09:43
Aleksey Reunkov RUS 2:09:54
Wilfred Kirwa Kigen KEN no mark]]>
Regarding this mark the only spring marathon that surpasses Vienna will be the Boston Marathon on 21st April. Among those athletes there will be the defending champion and three time winner Henry Sugut of Kenya and Getu Feleke. With a personal best of 2:04:50 the Ethiopian is the fastest runner ever entered into the Vienna City Marathon. Sugut is the course record holder with 2:06:58. Including shorter running event staged on Sunday organisers registered a record total of around 42,000 athletes for the 31st edition, which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

A live stream of the race will be shown on vienna-marathon.com on Sunday. Additionally there will be English live web reporting available. The race starts at 9 am Central European Time.

For Henry Sugut Vienna is already some sort of second home. He won the race in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The 28 year-old established the present course record of 2:06:58 two years ago. This is also his personal best. “Yes, you could say that Vienna is almost my living room,” he replied during the press conference. “It is a big motivation to have the chance to win the race for the fourth time. I want to make history in Austria,” said Sugut, who could become the only runner in the history of the race to achieve four victories.

“My training has gone very well and I am ready. I think I am able to break my personal best on Sunday. The weather forecast sounds ideal for me,” said Sugut. Overcast skies and temperatures between 13 and 16 Celsius with little wind are forecasted. Sugut lives in Eldoret but he does most of his training in Kaptabet. “Among my training partners is Geoffrey Kipsang. The fact that he won the World Half Marathon Championships recently is a good sign and a motivation for me. We help each other in training,” explained Sugut.

“For me the most diffcilut part during the race is always when the pacemakers drop out,” said Sugut. Half way pace is planned for 63:00 minutes and pacemakers are supposed to continue until the 30 k mark. “It then depends on how my body feels. If it is possible I will attack and try to run away.”

Asked about the long standing rivalry between Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners Sugut explained: “Generally we are friends. But at a certain stage during the race everone becomes an enemy. We will support each other. But from the 30 k mark onwards the fun is over!” Ethiopia’s Getu Feleke agreed with this view. The toughest challenge for Sugut might well come from him on Sunday:

Feleke’s marathon career started in Vienna five years ago. In a unique debutants’ only race he finished seventh with 2:11:47. “For me that was a good race for a start. I had no knowledge about the marathon before,” said Feleke, who significantly improved in the following years. In April 2012 he was second in Rotterdam with 2:04:50. “I was not fast enough on the final two kilometres, otherwise I could have won in Rotterdam,” said Feleke, who runs up to 280 kilometres per week in training in Addis Abeba. Coached by Getaneh Tessema among his training partners is Tsegaye Kebede, who will run in London on Sunday. A year ago Feleke took another second place in Rotterdam. In warm weather conditions he finished with 2:06:45. He might have to run faster to take victory in Vienna on Sunday.

Main contenders for the Vienna City Marathon:
Getu Feleke ETH 2:04:50
Philip Kimutai KEN 2:06:07
Henry Sugut KEN 2:06:58
John Kiprotich KEN 2:07:08
Alfred Kering KEN 2:07:11
Moses Kigen KEN 2:07:45
Duncan Koech KEN 2:07:53
Geoffrey Ndungu KEN 2:08:35
Ryo Yamamoto JPN 2:08:44
Maswai Kiptanui KEN 2:08:53
Oleksandr Sitkovskyy UKR 2:09:14
Felix Kiprotich KEN 2:09:43
Aleksey Reunkov RUS 2:09:54
Wilfred Kirwa Kigen KEN no mark]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Joyce-Chepkirui-ready-for-fast-time Thu, 03 Apr 2014 16:39:04 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Joyce-Chepkirui-ready-for-fast-time
A year ago Joyce Chepkirui was unlucky when she suffered of an Achilles tedon problem during her marathon debut in London. She still managed to finish, but 2:35:54 and 15th place was obviously not what she had hoped for. There are no problems before Saturday’s race and Chepkirui has in the meantime produced a stunning performance when she concentrated on shorter distances. In Berlin’s 10 k race Asics Grand 10 the 25 year-old won with 30:37 minutes last October. This puts her in sixth position in the world alltime list, only 16 seconds away from the world record. And it suggests she should be able to well improve her personal best of 67:03. When she goes to the start line on Saturday Chepkirui hopes to produce a similar performance to that of Berlin. “I’m in the same kind of shape I was before Berlin,” said the Kenyan, who revealed that one of her training partners in the high altitude training camp in Iten is Florence Kiplagat. The Kenyan sensationally broke the half marathon world record seven weeks ago when she ran 65:12 in Barcelona.

The current course record of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon stands at 66:48. It was Kenya’s newly crowned World Half Marathon Champion Gladys Cherono who ran this time a year ago. Chepkirui is definitely going for this and aiming high. “My aim is to run sub 66 minutes,” she announced during the press conference in the aptly named Cloud Bar of Prague’s Hilton Hotel, overlooking the city. Does she even expect to come close to the world record? “I know the time of the record,” she replied, but also added: “When I left Kenya yesterday Florence told me: May be you will break my record!”

The women’s field of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon is exceptionally strong. Seven more runners have personal bests of sub 70 minutes. Chepkirui’s strongest rivals could be fellow Kenyan Emily Chebet, who has run 68:20, and Firehiwot Dado. The Ethiopian clocked her PB of 68:35 when she won the New York Half Marathon two years ago.

The men’s race also looks very open. Four runners are entered with personal bests under the hour. Ethiopia’s Hunegnaw Mesfin and Kenya’s Peter Kirui each have the same PB of 59:39 while Philemon Limo (Kenya) has gone a fraction faster with 59:30. Another Kenyan, Evans Barkowet Kiplagat, has a best of 59:56. However Ethiopia’s course record holder Atsedu Tsegay, who has run 58:47 to set the national record in Prague in 2012, has had to withdraw because of typhoid infection.

Two other Kenyans featuring in Saturday’s race have gone tantalisingly close to the one hour mark and could hope to dip under 60 minutes in Prague: Henry Kiplagat has run 60:01 and Nicholas Kipkemboi’s PB is 60:15.

Live Coverage on Saturday

A live stream of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon will be available on Saturday under the following link: ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/10183677624-beh/214471291014001-bezecky-serial/
While commentary will be in Czech there will be a live Twitter service with updates on the elite races in English on the Run Czech website at: runczech.com The race starts at 1200 Central European Time.

Run Czech Racing: A new initiative from Prague

Organisers in Prague began a new initiative this year: Carlo Capalbo, the President of the organising team of the Run Czech events, introduced Run Czech Racing during today’s press conference. The team features a group of up to 15 international athletes. Wherever they compete around the world they will represent Run Czech Racing. Additionally these runners have a special connection to the events staged by Run Czech and will be present in Prague at certain times of the season. “They can stay here and we want them to connect with our runners,” said Capalbo, who hopes that in the future Czech elite runners could benefit from this as well.

Main contenders of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon

Men
Philemon Limo KEN 59:30
Hunegnaw Mesfin ETH 59:39
Peter Kirui KEN 59:39
Evans Kiplagat Barkowet KEN 59:56
Henry Kiplagat KEN 60:01
Nicholas Kipkemboi KEN 60:15
Cuthbert Nyasango ZIM 60:26
Abere Kassw ETH 60:58
Dawit Weldesilasie ERI 61:07
Daniel Wanjiru KEN 61:10
Gladwin Mzazi RSA 61:12
Mosinet Geremew ERI Debut

Women
Joyce Chepkirui KEN 67:03
Abebu Gelan ETH 67:57
Wude Ayalew ETH 67:58
Genet Getaneh ETH 68:18
Emily Chebet KEN 68:20
Firehiwot Dado ETH 68:35
Waganesh Mekasha ETH 68:48
Malika Asahssah MAR 69:11
Azusa Nojiri JPN 70:53
Esther Chemtai KEN Debut]]>
A year ago Joyce Chepkirui was unlucky when she suffered of an Achilles tedon problem during her marathon debut in London. She still managed to finish, but 2:35:54 and 15th place was obviously not what she had hoped for. There are no problems before Saturday’s race and Chepkirui has in the meantime produced a stunning performance when she concentrated on shorter distances. In Berlin’s 10 k race Asics Grand 10 the 25 year-old won with 30:37 minutes last October. This puts her in sixth position in the world alltime list, only 16 seconds away from the world record. And it suggests she should be able to well improve her personal best of 67:03. When she goes to the start line on Saturday Chepkirui hopes to produce a similar performance to that of Berlin. “I’m in the same kind of shape I was before Berlin,” said the Kenyan, who revealed that one of her training partners in the high altitude training camp in Iten is Florence Kiplagat. The Kenyan sensationally broke the half marathon world record seven weeks ago when she ran 65:12 in Barcelona.

The current course record of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon stands at 66:48. It was Kenya’s newly crowned World Half Marathon Champion Gladys Cherono who ran this time a year ago. Chepkirui is definitely going for this and aiming high. “My aim is to run sub 66 minutes,” she announced during the press conference in the aptly named Cloud Bar of Prague’s Hilton Hotel, overlooking the city. Does she even expect to come close to the world record? “I know the time of the record,” she replied, but also added: “When I left Kenya yesterday Florence told me: May be you will break my record!”

The women’s field of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon is exceptionally strong. Seven more runners have personal bests of sub 70 minutes. Chepkirui’s strongest rivals could be fellow Kenyan Emily Chebet, who has run 68:20, and Firehiwot Dado. The Ethiopian clocked her PB of 68:35 when she won the New York Half Marathon two years ago.

The men’s race also looks very open. Four runners are entered with personal bests under the hour. Ethiopia’s Hunegnaw Mesfin and Kenya’s Peter Kirui each have the same PB of 59:39 while Philemon Limo (Kenya) has gone a fraction faster with 59:30. Another Kenyan, Evans Barkowet Kiplagat, has a best of 59:56. However Ethiopia’s course record holder Atsedu Tsegay, who has run 58:47 to set the national record in Prague in 2012, has had to withdraw because of typhoid infection.

Two other Kenyans featuring in Saturday’s race have gone tantalisingly close to the one hour mark and could hope to dip under 60 minutes in Prague: Henry Kiplagat has run 60:01 and Nicholas Kipkemboi’s PB is 60:15.

Live Coverage on Saturday

A live stream of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon will be available on Saturday under the following link: ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/10183677624-beh/214471291014001-bezecky-serial/
While commentary will be in Czech there will be a live Twitter service with updates on the elite races in English on the Run Czech website at: runczech.com The race starts at 1200 Central European Time.

Run Czech Racing: A new initiative from Prague

Organisers in Prague began a new initiative this year: Carlo Capalbo, the President of the organising team of the Run Czech events, introduced Run Czech Racing during today’s press conference. The team features a group of up to 15 international athletes. Wherever they compete around the world they will represent Run Czech Racing. Additionally these runners have a special connection to the events staged by Run Czech and will be present in Prague at certain times of the season. “They can stay here and we want them to connect with our runners,” said Capalbo, who hopes that in the future Czech elite runners could benefit from this as well.

Main contenders of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon

Men
Philemon Limo KEN 59:30
Hunegnaw Mesfin ETH 59:39
Peter Kirui KEN 59:39
Evans Kiplagat Barkowet KEN 59:56
Henry Kiplagat KEN 60:01
Nicholas Kipkemboi KEN 60:15
Cuthbert Nyasango ZIM 60:26
Abere Kassw ETH 60:58
Dawit Weldesilasie ERI 61:07
Daniel Wanjiru KEN 61:10
Gladwin Mzazi RSA 61:12
Mosinet Geremew ERI Debut

Women
Joyce Chepkirui KEN 67:03
Abebu Gelan ETH 67:57
Wude Ayalew ETH 67:58
Genet Getaneh ETH 68:18
Emily Chebet KEN 68:20
Firehiwot Dado ETH 68:35
Waganesh Mekasha ETH 68:48
Malika Asahssah MAR 69:11
Azusa Nojiri JPN 70:53
Esther Chemtai KEN Debut]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Feleke-to-challenge-Henry-Sugut-in-Vienna Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:17:39 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Feleke-to-challenge-Henry-Sugut-in-Vienna
Feleke has a special connection to the Vienna City Marathon. It was here where he competed in his first race outside Ethiopia. In 2009 the organisers staged a unique debutants’ only marathon and Feleke was among the athletes invited. He finished seventh five years ago with a time of 2:11:47. “I have very good memories of the Vienna City Marathon. The city and the atmosphere were both impressive. I will never forget my first race outside Ethiopia,” said Feleke, who is looking forward to return to the place where his international career began.

After his debut marathon in Vienna Feleke developed very well. In the same year he improved to 2:09:32 in Amsterdam. In 2010 he clocked a fine half marathon time of 59:56 and then returned to Amsterdam, winning the race with a course record of 2:05:44. This is his only international marathon victory so far. However he managed to improve significantly again in April 2012, when he ran his personal best of 2:04:50. Feleke was second in Rotterdam with this time. A year ago he added another second place finish in Rotterdam. In warm weather conditions Feleke clocked 2:06:45.]]>
Feleke has a special connection to the Vienna City Marathon. It was here where he competed in his first race outside Ethiopia. In 2009 the organisers staged a unique debutants’ only marathon and Feleke was among the athletes invited. He finished seventh five years ago with a time of 2:11:47. “I have very good memories of the Vienna City Marathon. The city and the atmosphere were both impressive. I will never forget my first race outside Ethiopia,” said Feleke, who is looking forward to return to the place where his international career began.

After his debut marathon in Vienna Feleke developed very well. In the same year he improved to 2:09:32 in Amsterdam. In 2010 he clocked a fine half marathon time of 59:56 and then returned to Amsterdam, winning the race with a course record of 2:05:44. This is his only international marathon victory so far. However he managed to improve significantly again in April 2012, when he ran his personal best of 2:04:50. Feleke was second in Rotterdam with this time. A year ago he added another second place finish in Rotterdam. In warm weather conditions Feleke clocked 2:06:45.]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Komon-seeks-World-Record-on-Berlin-Half-Debut Fri, 28 Mar 2014 18:45:50 +0000 TheEd]]> https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Thread-Komon-seeks-World-Record-on-Berlin-Half-Debut
Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) is the current record holder with a time of 58:23 from Lisbon 2010. Ethiopia’s Tadelech Bekele is the favourite in the women’s race while Germany’s Sabrina Mockenhaupt could do well. 30,028 runners have entered the nation’s biggest and best quality half marathon.

Although Berlin has seen plenty of road running world records in the past the half marathon distance does not feature on that list yet. Leonard Komon now wants to change this. It is an ambitious project for someone who has not run further than 10 miles in competition. But his world records at 10 k and 15 k suggest that the 26 year-old is capable of doing it. With his 10 k time of 26:44 Komon still is the only runner who has broken 27 minutes on the road. At 15 k his world record stands at 41:13.

Regarding the world record the Kenyan said during a press conference in Berlin: “I have this time in my mind. If the pacemakers are doing well I think it will be possible for me to break it.”

Breaking the course record on the flat and fast course would be some achievement as well. It was back in 2007 when Patrick Makau (Kenya) clocked a world-class time of 58:56. Komon already holds one course record in Berlin. In 2010 he won the 10 k race Asics Grand 10 with 27:12, which is also a German allcomers’ record. Actually the Kenyan won this race four times in a row, from 2010 to 2013. So when he now returns to the German capital he will be on familiar territory. This should be an advantage for Komon. “I am happy to be back in Berlin and compete here for the fifth time,” Komon said.

With Komen likely to run at world record pace he will probably only be surrounded by a couple of pacemakers. For the other elite runners this pace should be too fast. There are two Kenyans on the start list who have run sub one hour times already. Lucas Rotich has a personal best of 59:44 while Daniel Chebii ran 59:49. Ethiopia’s Abera Kuma (60:19) and Abraham Cheroben (Kenya/60:38) could also be in contention for a place on the podium.

Tadelech Bekele is the fastest runner entered into the women’s field. The Ethiopian has a personal best of 68:38. But more significant is her improvement at the 10 k distance last autumn in Berlin. She was second in the Asics Grand 10 with 30:38, moving up to seventh in the alltime list at that distance. This clearly shows that she has the potential for a much faster half marathon as well.

Sabrina Mockenhaupt is the second fastest on the start list with a time of 68:45. When she clocked this PB back in 2009 she won the Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON. In 2010 she came back to this race, taking third with 69:57. But there was a less good experience for her in 2011. Mockenhaupt had entered the race as the favourite, but dropped out. “With the exception of that race three years ago I have always done well when I ran in Berlin. So I am looking forward to Sunday. I believe this year can be a good one for me,” said Sabrina Mockenhaupt, who also clocked her 10 k best of 31:49 and her marathon PB of 2:26:21 in Berlin. „I hope to run sub 70 minutes on Sunday.” With such a result she could make the podium. Apart from Bekele two Kenyans will be her main rivals: Agnes Mutune has a PB of 70:05 while Alice Kibor has run 71:13.]]>
Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) is the current record holder with a time of 58:23 from Lisbon 2010. Ethiopia’s Tadelech Bekele is the favourite in the women’s race while Germany’s Sabrina Mockenhaupt could do well. 30,028 runners have entered the nation’s biggest and best quality half marathon.

Although Berlin has seen plenty of road running world records in the past the half marathon distance does not feature on that list yet. Leonard Komon now wants to change this. It is an ambitious project for someone who has not run further than 10 miles in competition. But his world records at 10 k and 15 k suggest that the 26 year-old is capable of doing it. With his 10 k time of 26:44 Komon still is the only runner who has broken 27 minutes on the road. At 15 k his world record stands at 41:13.

Regarding the world record the Kenyan said during a press conference in Berlin: “I have this time in my mind. If the pacemakers are doing well I think it will be possible for me to break it.”

Breaking the course record on the flat and fast course would be some achievement as well. It was back in 2007 when Patrick Makau (Kenya) clocked a world-class time of 58:56. Komon already holds one course record in Berlin. In 2010 he won the 10 k race Asics Grand 10 with 27:12, which is also a German allcomers’ record. Actually the Kenyan won this race four times in a row, from 2010 to 2013. So when he now returns to the German capital he will be on familiar territory. This should be an advantage for Komon. “I am happy to be back in Berlin and compete here for the fifth time,” Komon said.

With Komen likely to run at world record pace he will probably only be surrounded by a couple of pacemakers. For the other elite runners this pace should be too fast. There are two Kenyans on the start list who have run sub one hour times already. Lucas Rotich has a personal best of 59:44 while Daniel Chebii ran 59:49. Ethiopia’s Abera Kuma (60:19) and Abraham Cheroben (Kenya/60:38) could also be in contention for a place on the podium.

Tadelech Bekele is the fastest runner entered into the women’s field. The Ethiopian has a personal best of 68:38. But more significant is her improvement at the 10 k distance last autumn in Berlin. She was second in the Asics Grand 10 with 30:38, moving up to seventh in the alltime list at that distance. This clearly shows that she has the potential for a much faster half marathon as well.

Sabrina Mockenhaupt is the second fastest on the start list with a time of 68:45. When she clocked this PB back in 2009 she won the Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON. In 2010 she came back to this race, taking third with 69:57. But there was a less good experience for her in 2011. Mockenhaupt had entered the race as the favourite, but dropped out. “With the exception of that race three years ago I have always done well when I ran in Berlin. So I am looking forward to Sunday. I believe this year can be a good one for me,” said Sabrina Mockenhaupt, who also clocked her 10 k best of 31:49 and her marathon PB of 2:26:21 in Berlin. „I hope to run sub 70 minutes on Sunday.” With such a result she could make the podium. Apart from Bekele two Kenyans will be her main rivals: Agnes Mutune has a PB of 70:05 while Alice Kibor has run 71:13.]]>